Local leader returns to panel overseeing Nevada’s Colorado River share
The Southern Nevada Water Authority Board on Friday voted to reappoint Boulder City Council member Steve Walton to the Colorado River Commission of Nevada, extending his service for a second two-year term as the region confronts a prolonged drought.
Walton has been on the SNWA Board since 2022. The Colorado River Commission is the state body that develops policy around Nevada’s allocation of both water and hydroelectric power from the Colorado River system — resources increasingly strained by low reservoir levels and hotter, drier conditions across the Southwest.
The commission comprises seven members: four appointed by the governor and three appointed from the SNWA Board of Directors. Commissioners are expected to be familiar with the development of the Colorado River and its tributaries within Nevada and to protect the state’s legal rights and benefits derived from the river.
| Commission composition | Number |
|---|---|
| Governor-appointed commissioners | 4 |
| SNWA-appointed commissioners | 3 |
What the commission does and why it matters locally
The commission’s role goes beyond water allotments: it also manages and protects Nevada’s share of hydroelectric power generated on the river and marketed by federal agencies. That power is produced at federally owned dams and delivered by a federal power marketing agency to wholesale contractors and local end-users.
- Sets policy for Nevada’s Colorado River water and power allocations.
- Oversees purchases and distribution of hydropower marketed by federal agencies.
- Delivers power to wholesale utility contractors, businesses at the Black Mountain Industrial Complex, and public entities including Boulder City and educational institutions.
Federal partners in the system include the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, which owns and operates major dams and associated power plants on the Colorado River, and the Western Area Power Administration, which markets that power and transmits it over high-voltage lines.
Walton’s reappointment comes as state and regional officials continue to monitor the effects of what has been described by federal and state water managers as an historic drought across the Southwest. Decisions by the Colorado River Commission influence both how much water reaches Southern Nevada and how hydropower revenues and supplies are managed for municipal, industrial and institutional customers.
For residents and local governments, the commission’s work can affect long-term water planning, conservation efforts and the availability and cost of electricity linked to hydropower. With Walton set for another two-year term, Boulder City will continue to have direct representation among the three SNWA-appointed commissioners charged with protecting Nevada’s interests on the river.
